Exposure levels of CT and conventional X-ray procedures for radiosensitive pelvic organ in Saudi Arabia

Radiosensitive organs in the pelvic cavity of 313 patients were exposed to low-dose diagnostic radiation to assess the entrance surface air dose (ESD) and effective doses (ED), and also to compare the X-ray and computed tomography (CT) dose levels. The patients were examined at King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital and King Faisal Medical Complex in Taif City, Saudi Arabia for 4 months in 2020. In conventional pelvic imaging, the DOSCAL software was used to assess the ESD. To estimate the CT radiation dose to the pelvis, the CT dose index (CTDIw, usually CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) were utilized. For routine pelvic X-ray imaging, the mean ESD and ED were found to be 7.2 mGy and 0.38 mSv, respectively. For CT imaging, the mean values of CTDIw, DLP, and ED were found to be 10.9 mGy, 593 mGy-cm, and 8.9 mSv, respectively. The obtained values of ESD and ED were found in agreement with the reported data available in the literature. However, a significant variation has been observed for conventional X-ray and CT doses among the selected hospitals. In comparison to conventional radiography, the CT induces 20 times higher doses to pelvic organs. The obtained results may help to establish the local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs).